The invention relates generally to continuous casting.
More particularly, the invention relates to a continuous casting apparatus, especially an apparatus for the continuous casting of steel.
One type of continuous casting apparatus is the curved-mold apparatus. This apparatus includes a reciprocable continuous casting mold having a curved casting passage and a secondary cooling unit which is designed to cool a continuously cast strand issuing from the mold. The apparatus further includes a withdrawal-and-straightening unit for the strand, a rigid dummy bar and a shifting mechanism designed to guide and move the dummy bar between a storage position and an operative position.
A curved-mold continuous casting apparatus for steel is supplied with molten steel by means of a vertical inlet or an inlet which is slightly inclined to the vertical. The resulting strand is guided along a curved path having an arc length of approximately 90 degrees and is subsequently straightened. As a rule, a horizontal strand removal mechanism is disposed downstream of the straightening unit.
The radius of the curved path in a continuous casting apparatus for steel billets can be 4 meters and greater. For blooms and slabs, the radius of the curved path is 8 to 12 meters. Continuous casting apparatus can be single-strand apparatus or multiple-strand apparatus capable of casting up to eight strands simultaneously.
A continuous casting apparatus of the type described above is provided with two or more walkable platforms or intermediate floors for operation and maintenance of the apparatus and is erected in the steel mill together with a steel support structure. The steel structure constitutes an integral part of the continuous casting apparatus and is used, by way of example, to suspend the mold and support the strand guide, withdrawal-and-straightening unit and dummy bar storage unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,844 discloses a continuous casting apparatus for steel having a rigid dummy bar in the form of a circular arc. This apparatus consists of a continuous casting mold, a secondary cooling unit, a withdrawal-and-straightening unit and a unit for guiding and moving the dummy bar. The device for guiding the dummy bar can simultaneously function as a means for parking the dummy bar. The mold is supported on the steel structure for the casting platform while the withdrawal-and-straightening unit is disposed on a foundation. The guide, storage and moving unit for the dummy bar is secured to columns of the casting platform structure. The curved strand guide between the mold and the withdrawal device is movably mounted on the foundation via a horizontally displaceable carriage.
Due to its bulkiness, such an apparatus cannot be transported in the assembled condition. As a rule, it is erected and aligned at the casting location. The steel structure, which is common to a plurality of strands, has a width based on the number of strands which the apparatus is designed to cast. The apparatus requires extended and expensive assembly and alignment work, and a change in the number of strands which can be cast is possible only by alteration of the casting platform structure.